A Robstown couple accused of manufacturing heroin told police some of their children, aged 1 to 13, helped them sell drugs.

Eight children were found alone in a home on the 900 block of Dakota Street when authorities were executing a search warrant Friday, Robstown Police Chief Erasmo Flores said.

Police found a "large amount of heroin" in the home and "evidence of drug trafficking," lead detective Josh Sorensen said.

The children's mother, Anna Gamboa, 29, and Rene Molina, 48, were arrested and booked into the Nueces County Jail on Friday. Each faces charges of manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance and eight counts of child endangerment, abandonment and criminal negligence, according to jail officials.

Their bail totals $105,000 each.

Sorensen said the man and woman were married by common law and lived at the home where the children were found.

The eight children are now in the state's care until a hearing later this month, Child Protective Services officials said.

In the civil case, a judge will determine the next steps for the children.

Rene Molina and Anna Gamboa(Photo: Nueces County Jail)

Police also searched a home on the 600 block of Lopez Street where they found evidence of drug trafficking, believed to be part of the operation with the Dakota home.

Robstown police were assisted with the investigation by the Nueces County District Attorney's Office Criminal Interdiction Unit, Nueces County Sheriff's Office, FBI Safe Streets and the South Texas Task Force.

"When it comes to drug trafficking, it's an ongoing thing," he said. "It continues until we end it."

"It's not just here in Robstown," Sorensen said. "It can lead elsewhere, in other areas and we'll just follow that."